BERKELEY – After 10 years leading the Cal men's rowing program, Mike Teti will be changing course after the 2018 season to become head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team beginning this June. However, he won't have to alter his location at all as USRowing is opening a National Team Training Center at the home of the Golden Bears – the T. Gary Rogers Rowing Center in Oakland.
 
The creation of the training center is made possible through a generous partnership between USRowing and The Rogers Family Foundation, the California Rowing Club and the University of California. USTC-Oakland will serve as the primary training base for the U.S. men's senior national team.
 
"The Friends of Cal Crew could not be more pleased with the decision of USRowing to bring the men's national training center to the Cal boathouse," said Andy Rogers '90, who serves as president of the Friends of Cal Crew. "The presence of the national team will only inspire Cal student-athletes to reach higher goals, as the Cal rowing history of three gold medals can only inspire the national team to bring home gold again. We wish our extraordinary coach Mike Teti luck with this new adventure and are even more pleased he will remain an ever strong presence around the boathouse."
 
During his tenure in Berkeley, Teti has guided Cal to a pair of Pac-12 and IRA titles, highlighted by winning both the conference and national championships in 2016. For his efforts, he was named the IRA National Coach of the Year in 2016. Last season, Teti guided the Bears to three medals at the IRA regatta.
 
In addition to his work with Cal, Teti has a long history with the U.S. National Team a competitor and a coach. As a rower, Teti was a 12-time national team member and three-time Olympian. From 1977-93, he won 24 national titles, a silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games in the four, and a bronze and a gold in the eight at the World Championships (1985 and '87). He was also a bronze medal-winner in the eight at the 1988 Olympics. In 1987, Teti was named USRowing's Male Athlete of the Year after rowing bow on the world champion U.S. eight.
 
"I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to coach at the University of California and will cherish the life-long friendships forged during my 10 years in Berkeley," Teti said. "From our first days in California, Kay, John and I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the University and the entire Cal Rowing Family. I look forward to a successful final season leading Cal through the 2018 Pac-12 and IRA Championships.
 
"I want to thanks Andy Rogers, president of the Friends of Cal Crew, our Director of Athletics Mike Williams and our sport supervisor Ryan Cobb for their tireless efforts on behalf of our team. I'd like to thank my associate head coach Scott Frandsen for his hard work, unwavering dedication and all he's done to help build a solid foundation both academically and athletically to ensure the future success of Cal Men's Rowing. I want to thank Patrick Schulkers for his fundraising work with the Friends of Cal Crew and Tom O'Connell for coaching our developing student-athletes. I am confident that our program is in good hands.
 
"On a more personal note, I feel so fortunate to have known Gary Rogers. Gary was not only our biggest supporter and role model for our student-athletes, but my mentor and most importantly, a true friend. Kay, John and I owe Gary a great debt of gratitude and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of him. I am so proud that we are achieving Gary's dream of returning the U.S. National Team to the Oakland Estuary.
 
Finally, I want all the student-athletes I coached at Cal to know that I greatly appreciate your efforts and wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors … you are prepared! I have never been more proud to utter the words … GO BEARS!!!"
 
Teti was first named U.S. men's head coach after the 1996 Olympic Games, where he coached the lightweight men's four to a bronze medal. He is the only men's eight coach in U.S. history to win three consecutive world championship titles (1997-99).
 
At the 2000 Olympics, all of Teti's sweep boats qualified for the finals, with the men's pair winning silver. Four years later, Teti directed the men's eight to a world record in its heat and an eventual gold medal in Athens, marking the first time the United States captured the Olympic title since 1964. He coached the men's eight to a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In total, U.S. National Team crews have produced 29 medals under Teti's guidance.
 
The first person inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame as both a coach and an athlete, in 2008 Teti received the USRowing Medal, the highest honor bestowed by rowing's governing body.
 
"Over the last 20-plus years, Mike Teti has proven himself to be one of the top coaches in the world, leading the U.S. men's team to 29 world and Olympic medals including Olympic gold in Athens," said USRowing CEO Patrick McNerney. "We are thrilled to have Mike return as the U.S. National Team Men's Head Coach, and we look forward to building upon that success as we head towards the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo."
 
Cal will embark on a national search for a new men's rowing coach, who will lead the team following the 2018 season.